This invention is directed to a garment kit which allows customized fit for the intended wearer. It is more specifically directed to a kit for making garments or other wearing apparel in which the pattern is preprinted in spaced relation on the garment material which allows major alterations to be performed prior to construction.
As is well known in the art to which the present invention is related, kits for making clothing and garments have been known and used for many years. Although it has not been considered a kit in the past, the use of paper patterns has also been well known by seamstresses, tailors and individuals who sew and make articles of clothing. As a variation in the use of paper patterns, the preprinting or precutting of the individual pieces of the garment on or from the intended garment material is also well known.
In viewing the prior art, it is readily apparent that although individuals have confronted the problem of varying the size of garments, little thought has been given to the alteration of garments by enlarging and reducing various dimensions prior to the actual fabrication of the article. There are patents which show patterns having the outline sized for a particular or nominal size. It is suggested in these disclosures that the article can be reduced where desired by shortening or trimming the pattern in order to reduce the dimensions of the individual pieces and in turn the finished article.
In some kits where the individual patterns are preprinted on the material to be used, the individual patterns are arranged in contiguous position on the fabric and the least amount of material possible is provided. In other words, the edges of the individual patterns abut or adjoin each other providing no excess between the pieces. This makes it impossible to enlarge the pattern or the several patterns and thus the overall garment.
This is especially true where the individual pieces have been precut from the fabric prior to being purchased by the individual. Because of the lack of additional material, the pieces can only be reduced in size and never enlarged and thus customized alterations for the finished garment to properly fit the individual wearer is impossible.
It has been noted in the prior art that on some precut or preprinted patterns additional lines have been added to allow making the garment into smaller sizes from the standard or nominal size purchased. Thus, it is necessary that the individual buys the garment according to the largest size required and then reduces the required dimensions of the garment to make a smaller size. This allows reduction in overall size of the garment but it does not allow for increasing certain dimensions for customized alteration and fitting.
It is common knowledge that the vast majority of human beings do not fit into exact or standard sizes. In fact each individual is different in one or many dimensions from many others. Although some persons come close to a nominal size, the vast majority require variations from the nominal. For this reason it is practically impossible to buy a ready-made garment, dress or article of clothing without requiring some alteration to be made to provide a proper and perfect fit.
The same is also true with respect to kits which are provided for individuals to sew and construct for themselves. Although alterations can be made during the construction of these garments, the alterations always have taken the form of reducing or taking in the dimensions to provide a reasonable fit. Nowhere has it been found that the kit allows for the additional enlargement of the pieces in one or more dimensions to provide the necessary proper fit for the wearer.
Because of the above-stated problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a garment kit wherein the pattern and individual pieces can be enlarged or reduced in various dimensions as required to provide a proper fit for the intended wearer.
It is also an object of the present invention to allow a person who has little skill in the art of making clothing to custom fit the finished article.
It is also a further object of the present invention to provide a garment kit in which an excess of material is included to allow additional accessories to be added or for repair of the finished garment.
It is also a still further object of the present invention to provide kits in several nominal sizes which cover a range of dimensions which permits the individual to vary the required dimensions of his garment for custom fitting.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a kit for making clothing in which the matching of the color between the individual pieces and the loss of individual pieces which occurs with precut kits is eliminated permitting the completion of a well-fitted garment at a reasonable cost.